z3200 16 bit printing?

[mlmcasual]

Hi,
I recently acquired a z3200ps 44" for work graphics and came across some HP sales lit http://h10088.www1.hp.com/gap/download/4AA2-0489ENUC.pdf
saying quote,


"Print 16-bit TIFF and JPEG images with HP embedded web servers 16 to 8bit LCED color convertor."



My question, does the z3200 print 16bit images in 16 bit? or is this simply able to convert 16bit to 8bit and print in 8bit

My workflow is from adobe cs4 photoshop.

[Scott Martin]

My question, does the z3200 print 16bit images in 16 bit? or is this simply able to convert 16bit to 8bit and print in 8bit

That's a good question that applies for all three brands. Various drivers and plug-ins are now capable of sending 16 bit data but at what bit depth does each printer's on-board processor process that information? Canon is quick to say their L-COA processors process in 12 bits which they consider to be the sweet spot for quality and speed - and one can go and read up about this on their website. While Epson evangelists have been quick to claim full 16 bit processing on even some inexpensive consumer printers (where it seems unlikely that such processing power could be so affordable), the Epson engineers and product managers I've asked have been *very* quick to say "no comment". I haven't found any HP engineers that cared to comment on this issue either.

If anyone (except Epson evangelists) has any information directly from Epson or HP engineers I'm sure we'd all love to hear about it, complete with OEM website links with more info. You'd think if these brands have full 16 bit on-board processing they'd be bragging about it in official literature.

I actually hope that they all have high bit depth processing (bickering over 10,12,14,or 16 bits is silly) so we can put this question to rest. This is a relatively small issue that's not worthy of too much attention. Nonetheless, it would be nice to know what the real scoop is, beyond all the marking hype.

[dct123]

That's a good question that applies for all three brands. Various drivers and plug-ins are now capable of sending 16 bit data but at what bit depth does each printer's on-board processor process that information? Canon is quick to say their L-COA processors process in 12 bits which they consider to be the sweet spot for quality and speed - and one can go and read up about this on their website. While Epson evangelists have been quick to claim full 16 bit processing on even some inexpensive consumer printers (where it seems unlikely that such processing power could be so affordable), the Epson engineers and product managers I've asked have been *very* quick to say "no comment". I haven't found any HP engineers that cared to comment on this issue either.

If anyone (except Epson evangelists) has any information directly from Epson or HP engineers I'm sure we'd all love to hear about it, complete with OEM website links with more info. You'd think if these brands have full 16 bit on-board processing they'd be bragging about it in official literature.

I actually hope that they all have high bit depth processing (bickering over 10,12,14,or 16 bits is silly) so we can put this question to rest. This is a relatively small issue that's not worthy of too much attention. Nonetheless, it would be nice to know what the real scoop is, beyond all the marking hype.

Concerning the HP Z3200ps, all you need to do is read their advertising which quite explicitly states: "Print 16-bit TIFF and JPEG images with HP Embedded Web Server's 16- to 8-bit Linear Color Error Diffusion color converter. This feature is available in HP Designjet Z3200 PostScript models." The key word here is "CONVERTER".

[Scott Martin]

Concerning the HP Z3200ps, all you need to do is read their advertising which quite explicitly states...

Sure, but what about the other Z series printers?

[dct123]

Sure, but what about the other Z series printers?

You buy the "cheap seats" you can't complain about the view.

[Scott Martin]

You buy the "cheap seats" you can't complain about the view.

The non-postscript Z printers are anything but the cheap seats. When they came out there more more expensive then all of their competitors. The iPF printers are the cheap seats and they do have high bit processing.